1 “Best Practice” & The Habits We MUST Change Grant Wiggins December 2006.

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“Best Practice” & The Habits We MUST Change

Grant WigginsDecember 2006

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Some Key Questions:

How do people learn best? What follows for planning and instruction?“Am I doing ‘best practice’? Or am I stuck in unhelpful habits?”

What do our goals demand of our methods of instruction? If genuine understanding is the long-term goal, what follows for my learning and teaching?

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Key findings for instruction, according to How People Learn

(from National Academy of Sciences):

1. Teachers must draw out and work with preexisting understandings.

2. Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work.

3. The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.

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“How People Learn”

“1. Students come to the classroom with preconceptions. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information.

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How People Learn“2. To develop competence, students must:Have a deep foundation of factual knowledge

Understand facts and ideas in a conceptual framework

Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application

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How people learn“Students develop flexible under-standing of when, where, why, and how to use their knowledge to solve new problems if they learn how to extract underlying principles and themes from their learning exercises.”

- How People Learn, p.224

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How People Learn

“Learning with understanding is more likely to promote transfer than simply memorizing information from a text or a lecture.” -

How People Learn, p 224

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How People Learn

“3. A metacognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their learning:The teaching of metacognitive activities must be incorporated into the subject matter.

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Commonly-cited student understanding weaknessesInability to analyze/interpret texts and

events; students end up just retellingInability to see how today’s problem in math requires the same skills we have been working on, though the content or wording of the problem is different

Inability to use the foreign language in a simulated situation that calls for what was recently taught

Failure to use the writing process or reading strategy if not prompted to do so

Not answering the question asked; failure to stop and consider: what does this question/task/problem demand?

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“Nothing personal, but…”We all have a few habits that are

neither helpful nor in line with ‘Best Practice’For example, many of us too often –

Confuse the textbook with a valid syllabus based on transfer goals

Confuse fun activities with learning“Teach” without checking for understanding early and often enough

Test what is easier to test and grade rather than what is most in line with our personal and institutional long-term goals

We all have a few habits that are neither helpful nor in line with ‘Best Practice’For example, many of us too often –

Confuse the textbook with a valid syllabus based on transfer goals

Confuse fun activities with learning“Teach” without checking for understanding early and often enough

Test what is easier to test and grade rather than what is most in line with our personal and institutional long-term goals

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Nothing personal: “Best design” characteristics (from 8000+ educators)

Clear goals and explicit performance requirements Models and modeling provided A genuine challenge/problem/question frames work that stretches you - real, meaningful tasks

Lots of focused practice, feedback, and opportunities to use it built in - not over-planned and taught

Trial and error, reflection and adjustment are expected, encouraged and ‘designed in’

The teacher is more of a facilitator, coach There is a safe, supportive environment for risk-taking, trying out new learning

‘Designed in’ variety, choice, and attention to difference

A good mix of collaboration/solo work Immersion, active, hands-on - and earlier than typically done

Clear goals and explicit performance requirements Models and modeling provided A genuine challenge/problem/question frames work that stretches you - real, meaningful tasks

Lots of focused practice, feedback, and opportunities to use it built in - not over-planned and taught

Trial and error, reflection and adjustment are expected, encouraged and ‘designed in’

The teacher is more of a facilitator, coach There is a safe, supportive environment for risk-taking, trying out new learning

‘Designed in’ variety, choice, and attention to difference

A good mix of collaboration/solo work Immersion, active, hands-on - and earlier than typically done

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Backward DesignPlans need to be

well aligned to be effective

Aimless activity & coverage

Transfer as goal

It is the essence of understanding and

the point of schooling

Focus on big ideas

that’s how transferhappens, makes

learning more connected

Students fail to apply, poor results on tests

Meaningful learningthat’s what is most

engaging and invitingYou lose many kids

over time

Learning is fragmented, more difficult, less engaging

UbD big idea

Why important?

If not…

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EffectiveInstruction

Acquire

Learning for Learning for UnderstandingUnderstandingLearning for Learning for UnderstandingUnderstanding

MakeMeaning

Transfer

Crucial to to get Crucial to to get the balance & the balance &

sequence right!sequence right!

Crucial to to get Crucial to to get the balance & the balance &

sequence right!sequence right!

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Try out

Receive, Encounter

Goal: internalization and broadening of knowledge & skill; initial apprehension

& surface understanding

Goal: internalization and broadening of knowledge & skill; initial apprehension

& surface understanding

AcquireAcquire

Get Feedback

Practice,

Reinforce

& ExtendRefine/ Relearn,

as needed

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Make MeaningMake MeaningMake MeaningMake Meaning

Hypothesize,

Generalize

Evaluate

Your Idea(s)

Probing & Analysis Evoked(Current Understanding is ChallengedChallenged)

Goal: Learner-made connections, deepened understanding by developing and “testing”

ideas, given what was acquired & experienced

Goal: Learner-made connections, deepened understanding by developing and “testing”

ideas, given what was acquired & experienced

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Transfer

Evaluate

Adjust

Apply

Goal: autonomy & fluency of performance in increasingly

complex and novel situations, on worthy tasks

Goal: autonomy & fluency of performance in increasingly

complex and novel situations, on worthy tasks

TransferTransferTransferTransfer

Get Feedbac

k

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Learning for Understanding

Acquire MakeMeaning

Try outPractice, Reinforce& Extend

Receive, Encounter

Evaluate

Apply

Hypothesize,

Generalize

Test &EvaluateYour Ideas

Thinking Evoked

Transfer Get Feedbac

k

GetFeedback

Refine/Relearn as needed

Adjust

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Challenge current understandings in various ways: 1.Provide additional information that requires a student to extend the tentative understanding (broaden and confirm)

2.Provide conflicting information (contradiction, requiring re-thinking)

3.Propose an alternative understanding (challenge, requiring consideration of the same problem in a new light; might ultimately confirm or contradict)

4.Add complexity to the issue (deepen, likely confirming some pieces and contradicting others)

5.Compare this understanding to previous understandings about related issues (connect and synthesize)

MakeMeaning

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Challenge current understandings

in various ways: 6.Provide a problem that cannot be solved with a naïve understanding (contradict and create the need for an alternative understanding)

7.Require a defense (student examines underpinnings of understanding, considering evidence)

8.Introduce a different perspective that must be accounted for

9.Test the understanding against a new problem (may confirm, contradict, or require adjustment)

MakeMeaning

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Example: English

First you arrange things into groups. Of course, one pile may be enough, depending on how much there is to do; but some things definitely need to be separated from the others. A mistake here can be expensive; it is better to do too few things at once than too many. The procedure does not take long; when it is finished, you arrange things into different groups again, so that they can be put away, where they belong.

MakeMeaning

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My son’s teacher’s EQs (9th grade Global Interdependence) Whom should we care for? How do we identify ourselves?

What causes conflict? Why do people abuse their power over others?

Does global interdependence help or harm the people involved? How do our economic and political choices affect others?

Do human beings have rights? Are people "equal"? What does it mean to say that people have “rights” and are all “equal”?

What responsibilities do we have to others in the world? What responsibilities do governments have to people? What responsibilities do corporations have to people?

Is there right and wrong? If there is right and wrong, how do I come to know it? How does one live in the world with integrity? How well do my choices, words, and actions reflect my values?

What habits and attitudes do I need to be successful in life? How can ‘Global’ help?

What information should you trust? How do we know what to believe? How do we know what we know about the past? What are the key challenges and responsibilities of historians?

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Math Example:When isn’t ‘the shortest distance’ a straight line? Discuss: Real world vs. Euclid’s world - in the 3D physical world, what assumptions (axioms) must differ? (Meaning)

Students respond to some prompts e.g.:In our school, the shortest distance between any classroom and the main door is…

In flying long distances, the shortest distance between cities in 2 different countries is..

Teacher describes spherical and “taxicab” geometry as alternatives, and students read the chapter on other geometries from the textbook (Acquire)

KWL: What do you want to/need to know about this topic? (Meaning)

Write a guidebook for the geometry of your school (Transfer) Evaluate what we learned and what questions we still have about the text and the issue - KWLQ (Meaning)

A

M

T

M

M

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AcquireMake

Meaning

Transfer

Don’t presume a fixed sequence!

Don’t presume a fixed sequence!In fact, In fact, mostmost

units should units should beginbegin with with

meaning-makingmeaning-making

In fact, In fact, mostmost units should units should beginbegin with with

meaning-makingmeaning-making

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EXAMPLE: 3rd grade language arts; “tall tales” and story-telling

When is it “exaggeration” and when is it “lying” in telling a story? How much liberty does a storyteller have to stretch the truth?

“Be ready to offer your ideas in response to the question, in light of the story “Papa Tells Chita a Story” AND your own experience with “tall tales”

“Use the provided Essential Question sheets “Pose 2-3 new questions you have - about the issue and the story “Write an essay on the essential question, based on all our work”

MakeMeaning

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More generally, prior to acquisition...

Set up the text/content with an essential question

Ask learners to share experiences/ideas/ questions related to the issues and the text

Pre-assessment of prior learning and experience

MakeMeaning

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Reading example

Then, Acquire to grasp the gist of the story

Use the provided “story map” to identify plot, sequence, “problem”

Use the hints/scaffolds in the Textbook

Summarize the story in your own words Teach background knowledge, as needed

MakeMeaning Acquire

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“tall tales” and story-telling

Use the provided Questioning sheet to link the story to the Essential Question

Meaning is further enhanced and understanding deepened by reading 1-2 more stories that offer other points of view on the same question and/or that suggest different answers than the ones tentatively reached thus far.

Follow up the new readings with: Have I changed my mind? If so, why? If not, why not?

AcquireMake

Meaning

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Transfer

“Make up or tell a story with some exaggeration in it

“Get feedback and adjust, as needed“Listen to others’ stories“Discuss: which exaggeration is ‘ok’ and which isn’t; which ones work and which don’t? Why?

AcquireTransfer

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Teaching &

LearningFor

Understanding

•What’s going on here?•What is this about? •What should I make of this? •What is problematic here? •What is causing that?•What are the key facts? What’s the evidence?•What questions does this raise? •What is significant here?

These learner questions need to be evoked ‘by design’, not by the teacher:

MakeMeaning

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Teaching &

LearningFor

Understanding

•What’s going on here?•What is this about? •What should I make of this? •What is problematic here? •What is causing that?•What are the key facts? What’s the evidence?•What questions does this raise? •What is significant here?

These learner questions need to become autonomous

Transfer

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Transfer Stages:

1.Highly scaffolded and teacher prompted

2.LATER: Some scaffold, limited teacher prompting

3.BY THE END: No scaffold or teacher prompt: student must activate and employ the learning on their own from a repertoire

Transfer

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Consider Reading:• Activate Prior Knowledge • Adjust Reading Rate/Rereading• Ask Questions: Before, During, and After• Classify or Categorize Information• Compare and Contrast Ideas• Distinguish Facts from Opinions• Identify and Analyze Text Structure• Identify Author’s Purpose• Identify Author’s Viewpoint• Identify Main Ideas and Supporting Details• Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions• Make and Refine Predictions• Paraphrase/Retell• Sequence Events• Summarize Information• Use Context Clues to Decipher Unfamiliar

Words• Visualize Images From Text

Transfer

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Teaching & Learning

for Understanding

Quickly consider: What

of it?

What does this mean?

AcquireMake

Meaning

Realize the need to

acquire more knowledge and

skill

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Teaching & Learning

for Understanding

Soon, try to apply your learning in realistic settings

AcquireTransfer

Realize the need to

acquire more knowledge and

skill

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Try out& refine

Reinforce& Extend

Receive, Encounter

EvaluateAdjust

Apply

General-ize

Test &EvaluateYour Idea

Probe & Analyze

Traditional “coverage” makes the mistake of going through endless

acquisition loops without sufficient opportunities to make

meaning or transfer learning

Traditional “coverage” makes the mistake of going through endless

acquisition loops without sufficient opportunities to make

meaning or transfer learning

Acquire

MakeMeaning

Transfer

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Try out& refine

Reinforce& Extend

Receive, Encounter

EvaluateAdjust

Apply

General-ize

Test &EvaluateYour Idea

Probing Evoked

Many “rigorous” courses make the

mistake of ignoring the teaching, learning, and

assessing of student transfer

Many “rigorous” courses make the

mistake of ignoring the teaching, learning, and

assessing of student transfer

AcquireAcquireAcquireAcquire

MakeMakeMeaningMeaningMakeMake

MeaningMeaningTransferTransferTransferTransfer

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Try out& refine

Reinforce& Extend

Receive, Encounter

EvaluateAdjust

Apply

General-ize

Test &EvaluateYour Idea

Probing Evoked

Many “skills” courses make the mistake of

ignoring the learner’s need to understand the wise use of strategies

and concepts

AcquireAcquireAcquireAcquire

MakeMakeMeaningMeaningMakeMake

MeaningMeaningTransferTransferTransferTransfer

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An entire AP history course framed by such

tasks:Your goal is to determine why the urban riots of the late 60's happened. You are one of many august members of an LBJ appointed panel, the Kerner Commission, who must report to the president and the country on why the violence happened and what can be done about it. You will produce a collective report that must be thoughtful, thorough, and clearly presented. Your personal contribution will be judged through journal entries, observations of work and discussion, and sections of writing you produce.

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Purposeful Learning, aligned with goals

The essence of backward designALIGNMENT of learning with goals and evidence: Determine how to teach and what to teach by the demands of Stages 1 and 2, not habit or comfort level of the approach

The key question, then: what learning is needed? How can the needed learning best occur?Think of “teaching” and “content” as resources, not the causes of learning.

Think of textbook as resource, not the syllabus

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What research says on teaching for transfer

Halpern and Hakel, in Change: “The single most important variable in promoting long-term retention and transfer is "practice at retrieval." This principle means that learners need to generate responses, with minimal cues, repeatedly over time with varied applications so that recall becomes fluent and is more likely to occur across different contexts and content domains.

Simply stated, information that is frequently retrieved becomes more retrievable. In the jargon of cognitive psychology, the strength of the "memory trace" for any information that is recalled grows stronger with each retrieval.”

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What research says on teaching for transfer

“The effects of practice at retrieval are necessarily tied to a second robust finding in the learning literature-- spaced practice is preferable to massed practice…Space the intervals between instances of retrieval so that the time between them becomes increasingly longer.Applying this principle, a first examination to test a given concept or element of knowledge might be given to students one day after the initial learning, the second exam a few days after the first, the third a week after the second, and the fourth a month after the third, with the interval for each subsequent exam determined by the level of accuracy of student performance on the preceding one.

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Research on transfer (cont.)

“Varying the conditions under which learning takes place makes learning harder for learners but results in better learning. Like practice at retrieval, varied learning conditions pay high dividends for the effort exerted.

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Transfer Research

3) Learning is generally enhanced when learners are required to take information that is presented in one format and "re-represent" it in an alternative format.

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